Electricity grids

A new report entitled Mapping & Gap Analysis of Current European Smart Grids Projects, just published by the European Electricity Grid Initiative (EEGI), presents a detailed overview of completed and ongoing Smart Grids projects (mapping) and identifies gaps that emerge from the results in relation to the EEGI implementation plan (gap analysis). Overall, 203 projects from 22 European countries were identified by key experts nominated by representatives of Member States.

A new EU energy initiative which will provide access to sustainable energy for an additional 500 million people in developing countries by 2030 was today announced by European Commission President, José Manuel Barroso.

Last week a European Parliament committee approved an EU Roadmap to a low-carbon economy, which seeks to go beyond current carbon dioxide reduction targets.

Earlier this month Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn announced Horizon 2020, an EUR 80 billion programme to help achieve Europe's 2020 targets, which includes a package of measures to boost research, innovation and competitiveness in Europe.

Unlocking Europe's full potential for renewable energy via the modernisation and expansion of its power grids should go hand-in-hand with nature conservation efforts, said a coalition of Europe's largest grid operators and environmental organisations. The 'European Grid Declaration on Electricity Network Development and Nature Conservation in Europe' was handed to European Commissioner for Energy Günther H. Oettinger last month at the European Grid Conference in Brussels.

Under a new proposal published on 19 October, the European Commission plans to invest EUR 9.1 billion to improve trans-European energy infrastructure between 2014 and 2020. The money will be part of an ambitious EUR 50 billion Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) to develop Europe’s transport, energy and digital networks.

What is SETIS? How does SETIS support the SET-Plan? Download the new informational brochure (available in English, Dutch and Italian), which looks at how SETIS provides information for decision-making by monitoring progress of the SET-Plan.

With offshore wind energy set to play an increasing part in meeting the EU’s targets for renewable energy generation, it has become critical to overhaul Europe’s grid infrastructure to make optimal use of this input.

On 1st July 2011, the Commission launched a new European Energy Efficiency Fund (EEE-F) as part of the European Energy Programme for Recovery (EEPR).

As the energy value chain becomes increasingly two-way, for example with the introduction of micro-generation and energy efficiency focused technologies, the customer becomes an active element in the operation of a smart grid, with the retailer as an essential link with regulators and smart electricity grid infrastructure providers.

In a communiqué issued on 18th March 2011, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) calls on the European Union to consider the security of its energy supply as one of the priorities of its external policy. The recommendation is one of the results of an Opinion on energy supply and neighbourhood policy commissioned by the current Hungarian EU presidency.

The European Wind Energy Technology Platform (TPWind) recently launched its TOP Wind (Technology platform Operational Programme Wind) project, with funding from the European Commission through the 7th Framework Programme.

According to EC Commissioner for Energy, Günther Oettinger, the European Council’s first Summit on energy in Brussels on 4th February 2011 was “a breakthrough for European energy policy.” The Summit, he added, would be “a benchmark for the years to come.”

According to Bloomberg news agency, investment in low-carbon energy surged to a record $243 billion (€177 billion) last year, boosted by a 30 per cent spending increase in China to $51.1 billion (€37.3 billion) and “a burst in small-scale solar-power installations”.

Coordinator of the JP on Smart electricity grids, Luciano Martini, speaks about the grid network of the future, building partnerships and pooling resources, and the role of SETIS.

The Belgian presidency and the European Commission organised the European Strategic Energy Technology Plan Conference 2010. More than 500 stakeholders from industry and research institutes and European and national policymakers from across Europe gathered in Brussels for the fourth edition of the SET-Plan conference. The main objectives were the launch of the next two European Industrial Initiatives: Bioenergy and Sustainable Nuclear Energy, and the kick-off of the international cooperation dimension within the SET-Plan.

In June 2010 Henrik Bindslev, Director of the Danish National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy (Risø DTU), was named chairman of the European Energy Research Alliance (EERA), replacing Ton Hoff (ECN). Here, Mr Bindlev outlines how he sees the development of the EERA and how alternative energy technologies are emerging faster than anticipated.

Projects designed to improve energy efficiency could receive up to EUR 115 million in EU funds that would otherwise go unspent following the European Parliament’s approval of European Commission proposals for further funding under the European Energy Recovery Programme (EERP).

The ‘Renewable Energy Snapshots’ report, published in July 2010 by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), shows that renewable energy sources accounted for 62%, or 17GW, of the new electricity generation capacity installed in the EU27 in 2009. This is up from 57% in 2008.

The European Union has issued a publication entitled "Europe’s Energy Position – Markets & Supply".

The SmartGrids Strategic Deployment Document (SDD) is the third in a series of reports produced by the SmartGrids Technology Platform. The first document, 'Vision and Strategy for Europe’s Electricity Networks of the Future', set out the need for and vision of the future European electricity networks.

Despite the effects of the global economic crisis, investment in low-carbon technologies has remained comparatively stable in recent years. The crisis has, however, reinforced the importance of the financial impetus needed to bring low-carbon energy technologies on stream. Financing the development and installation of low-carbon energy is currently a political priority, but increased investment for these energy technologies is needed at both EU and international levels.

The European Commission released a report revealing that the EU is on track to exceed its target of generating 20% of all energy consumed from renewables, as set out in the Renewable Energy Directive. Ten of the EU’s 27 Member States are likely to surpass their national targets, while a further 12 will meet their goals. Just five countries are predicted to miss their targets using domestic renewable energy sources alone.